S-Max speedo issue

[Csputnik]

Hi all, apologies for the long post.

Just recently I have noticed an issue with the speedo on my 2010 (59 plate) s-max 2.0 tdci titanium. I first noticed the issue last Monday.

I noticed the speedo suddenly drop to zero and then come back up. My wife thought she saw the abs warning light flash on and off. The radio also stopped and then came back on (dash display went back to the main menu, and then back to the radio). This all lasted about a second. The dash is the Convers+.  The rest of the display was fine, and the car didn't miss a beat.  I thought nothing more of it.

On Wednesday I had the caravan on the back when the same happened. This time, I also lost all the running lights on the caravan, but the car lights were fine, and again, the car was running fine.  Called out the recovery guys, but whilst waiting, the lights on the caravan came back (I had been checking, but had done nothing else). Recovery guys followed me for a couple of miles, and then we went on our way. 

15 miles later, same issue.  This time got recovered to home.

Took the car into my local Ford dealership yesterday, and they couldn't find anything. No error codes or anything. They did find a blown inline fuse within the tow bar electrics so replaced that (aftermarket tow bar and wiring kit not fitted by Ford back in 2010). I left the dealership hoping the fuse may have been the culprit. Approaching a roundabout near home, the speedo dropped to zero and the radio cut out again. Again lasted about a second and again without the caravan of the back.

Any ideas?

Carl

ps- I'm not a mechanic or electrical minded so please keep answers simple if possible!

[jeebowhite]

the most likely answer here is a faulty instrument cluster, and is a very common issue with Fords for some time now!

 

You have two options, but as you are not electrically or mechanically minded, these may skip over you, but you should be able to get at least part of it done :)

 

You need to remove the instrument cluster, you can then blast the back of the cluster with electrical contact cleaner, and ensure the connected ribbon and wires are connected securely, if this fails, you could try your hand at soldering it, beyond that though, you would be looking at sending it off for repair.

If its not an issue with the panel, you get it back for a £30 fee, but this really is a common problem. If it is an issue with the panel, you get it fixed for £99 or so, and it will probably outlive us all.